A complicated, but successful story for TOTAL E&P Bulgaria

This spring, TOTAL Romania supplied Special Fluids to Halliburton Romania, a subsidiary of the world's largest product and services suppliers for the energy industry. It was a real stress test for TOTAL’s commercial team in Romania in the context of operational urgency to supply Halliburton and the strikes and blockage of Le Havre zone that happened at the same time.

TOTAL, as a major player in this technology, is conducting the first deep offshore exploration in Bulgaria. TOTAL E&P Bulgaria is exploring for oil and gas in Block 1-21 Khan Asparuh in the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria's Black Sea. The frontier exploration for hydrocarbons is a big challenge for TOTAL and also a great opportunity. We will become the first company to go that deep (2+4 km) using a drill ship in Bulgarian waters. As at 10th of July, the drill already reached a 5000 metre depth and still going on: what a commendable achievement!

For this campaign which started in May and currently under progress, TOTAL Romania was requested by TOTAL Fluids to supply drilling fluids to Halliburton, a service company appointed by TOTAL E&P Bulgaria. Traditionally realised by the central purchasing department of Halliburton, circumstances made necessary that our subsidiary took over this order and delivered Halliburton Romania in the port of Constanţa.

At first, product delivery from France seemed ordinary, but several difficulties cut in and took time and energy to overcome.

Soon after taking command of the product (13 tankers to be delivered within two weeks), a nationwide strike hit France. The industrial area of Le Havre, where the product was supposed to be loaded, was completely blocked by the protesters for foreign transporters. Consequently, we had to find and use a local carrier and requisition trucks scheduled for other customers. Eventually, the delivery was carried out in due time.

But within days, the customer returned with an additional order for seven tankers. Given our previous experience, we thought things would run smoothly albeit the French strikes. Still, new unforeseen circumstances were to come. Drivers got lost on the road and could not be located via satellite, while inherent linguistic barriers slightly contributed to the difficulty of the task. However, once in Constanţa, our colleague, Răzvan Puşcuţă, identified and guided the seven drivers to the final client.

Twenty-four hours after this second delivery, we received a third order, for 13 tankers. Meanwhile, strikes continued in France and TOTAL Special Fluids no longer had enough stock for the product on request. The necessary amount of product was found in other branches and 12 tankers were delivered in time. Although the last one was sent later, we fully met the client’s expectations.

These three deliveries meant a multiple experience for our teams and will definitely contribute to a more realistic analysis and approach of future demands. Teamwork was a key element in overcoming all challenges during these deliveries.